Rice

Rice v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc.

Caution

1 Cal. Rptr. 2d 265·1991 Cal. App. LEXIS 1278·235 Cal. App. 3d 1016·91 Daily Journal DAR 13584·91 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8806

Court of Appeal of CaliforniaOctober 31, 1991Docket Nos. A051808, A052638California5,339 words

Opinion

White, J.

—Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. (Dean Witter), and James Sherbourne appeal after the trial court denied their petition to compel arbitration in a dispute arising out of a brokerage agreement. The trial court denied arbitration because the plaintiff, Marylyn S. Rice, alleged in her complaint that Dean Witter and a codefendant, Ronald Reinhold, had obtained the brokerage agreement by fraud. We reverse an order imposing sanctions for the filing of a frivolous motion, but otherwise affirm the judgment.

I

Facts

Mrs. Rice is a 75-year-old woman in poor health. In her verified complaint, she alleged that beginning in 1981, her then son-in-law, codefendant Reinhold, represented to Mrs. Rice that he was a sophisticated businessman. Over time, Mrs. Rice came to trust Reinhold’s integrity and business judgment. Eventually, she opened a checking account on which Reinhold was an authorized signatory so he could assist in managing her personal and business affairs. Because of this, Mrs. Rice claims a fiduciary relationship existed between her and Reinhold.

Sometime in 1981, Reinhold needed a $25,000 loan for various business ventures. Mrs. Rice agreed to make the loan. At Reinhold’s…

Sign in to read the full opinion

Create a free account to read the complete opinion text, citation history, and good-law status for this case.